Bristol-Myers Squibb to close facility, cut jobs

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb plans to permanently close its Evansville quality control facility effective Dec. 31 and implement a reduction in force at its Mount Vernon, Ind., facility.

In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) filing Tuesday with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, the company said it anticipates 113 full-time employees will be separated from employment. Of those, 79 are employed at Evansville and 34 at Mount Vernon, according to the filing.

I'm totally surprised by this news. I thought the company was as solid as a rock. It won't be good for Mount Vernon."

The notification was made by Bill Mitchell, the general manager of Indiana Technical Operations of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., in a letter to Jennifer Long, Statewide Dislocated Worker Program Coordinator in Indianapolis.

The closure does not affect Evansville's Mead Johnson facility, which was spun off by Bristol-Myers Squibb as a separate company earlier this year.

"I found out about this earlier in the day," said Greg Wathen, president and CEO of the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana. "They had given some indications that some changes were coming. This obviously puts more people in the job pool. When is it a good time when someone learns his position is eliminated? There is no good time.

"No one knows what effect this decision will have, but it's obvious that we will see some more changes in the economy as it moves forward."

"I'm totally surprised by this news," said Steve Fuelling, a member of the Mount Vernon City Council. "I thought the company was as solid as a rock. It won't be good for Mount Vernon."

In the letter, Mitchell said all affected employees will be notified of their terminations at least 60 days before they lose their jobs.

Workers will be paid all wages and other benefits to which they are entitled through the date of termination. Information on severance plans will come at a later date.

Mitchell's letter spelled out the job losses which include 57 production operators in Evansville and 14 team leaders in both Evansville and Mount Vernon.

Also in the letter, Mitchell said, "Because BMS does not recognize bumping rights for its employees, terminated employees are not permitted to displace remaining employees based on seniority or any other factor."

On July 23 of this year, Bristol-Myers Squibb posted a 29 percent jump in second-quarter profit.